Might we be seeing the development of the next great rivalry of American swimming? With Phelps retired and Lochte aging, Jack Conger and Ryan Murphy are stepping into the spotlight with the latest shot coming from Conger on night 3 of the Tom Dolan Invitational at the University of Maryland.
There, Conger broke Murphy’s 100 backstroke National Age Group Record with a 45.32. Murphy’s old mark stood just for a month at 45.34 from the Florida High School State Championship meet.
This record will be in danger many more times before its settled; keep in mind that Murphy won’t age out of 17-18’s until after his freshman year of college, while Conger is already 18. Still, the two swimmers will go through all four years of college together (Murphy at Cal, Conger at Texas, the two highest profile programs in the sport right now) and will get the chance to battle head-to-head in this race surely many, many more times over the next decade.
This record won’t count as the National High School Record, as it wasn’t swum while representing Conger’s high school, but it is the fastest ever done by a swimmer who is in high school.
Enjoy it, because history is developing right now.
1:38.7… Fast
Great perspective for the 2013 LC meets and world championships to come ……
What a meet! Katie Ledecky has said it was the fastest night at the Tom Dolan Invitational she could remember.
Reece Whitley continues his 11/12 NAG records quest with a 59.90 in the 100 breast. Janet Hu is incredible in short course and has again impressed with a fast 22.26 in the 50 free and a new PB in the 100 back in 52.07. Katie Ledecky almost breaks the 15/16 NAG record in the 500 free with a new PB of 4.34.71. Andrew Seliskar and Carsten Vissering are future great breaststrokers. They have finished first and second in the 200 breast in 1.57.58 and in 1.59 82. Allie Szekely breaks the 13/14 NAG record from Katie Hoff in the… Read more »
We tend to forget about the relays but NCAP’s women 15-16 400 MR (with Hu and Ledecky) broke the NAG record and RMSC broke the listed men’s 17-18 400 MR record (with Conger). SwimMAC did go faster at juniors though with a team that had only 17-18 year olds on it so that would supercede RMSC. But fast, fast, fast.
Correction. Katie Ledecky hasn’t beaten her PB. She had swum 4.34.53 in Austin.
Jack Conger is incredible. He has responded to Ryan Murphy. Now he has to break the 200 back 17/18 NAG record on day 4 and it will not be easy. But he can do it. These 2 guys are amazing and I predict they can already swim next year under 53 in the 100 back and around 1.54 in the 200 back in long course. And I agree with you Braden, it will be a huge rivalry perhaps at least until the 2024 olympic games.
#gross
Let’s just hope Conger and Murphy can make the transition to LCM and remain dominant. Short course yards is a totally different ball game and hard to measure where a swimmer is at. Some of these guys get swallowed up by LCM.
Conger was 54.0 and Murphy 53.7 and both here 1:57 this summer in the 1/2 back, I think they are both just fine in LCM.
Both finaled at trials after their junior years of high school. I think they’ll be ok.
this may be the beginning of the great rivalry indeed..
I hope Andre Augusto keep up developing (14 old 58.26 LCM 100 back) and also put up with those 2 on backstroke
thats not quite the same level as these two.
To be truthful, André Augusto is faster than Conger(59.15) and slower than Murphy(57,76 the 1th) in US 13-14 all time in 100 backstroke.
But i find hard to draw any comparison with someone too young.Lets see what he will do in 2 or 3 years.
i mean things happen, just look at Seth Beer was the future of backstroke and them BOOM! baseball seemed more fun